Best Way to Cook Asparagus

For Better Asparagus, Ditch the Water

Ever noticed how asparagus has a more robust, nutty flavor when you roast it in the oven with olive oil than when you blanch or steam it? I'd always assumed that was just because, well, roasting makes everything taste better, but it turns out there's actually a scientific explanation behind the difference.

According to Fat Duck chef Heston Blumenthal, the flavor molecules in asparagus are water soluble. When you blanch the spears in boiling water, the flavor "leaks" out of the asparagus and into the water. When you cook it in fat, the molecules remain intact and stay where you want them — in your asparagus. So, instead of blanching your next batch of asparagus, cook it in a little olive oil or butter for a more flavorful result.

Since learning this fun fact from Blumenthal's The Fat Duck Cookbook, I haven't cooked asparagus any other way, and he's right! The flavor and texture are miles better. But don't get too carried away with this technique: although veggies like asparagus and carrots have water-soluble flavor molecules, the molecules in others, like broccoli and green beans, are oil-soluble and should be cooked in water for optimal flavor.

Try the appetizer from the Stone House Restaurant, in Redmond, you will not want asparagus any other way!!!

3 years

"Personally, I am horrified you would microwave asparagus"
Uh - why? Microwaving doesn't introduce water to the cooking process, which is the main point of this article. And it heats food much faster than other cooking methods, reducing the time the food - and its nutrients - spend at high temperature and therefore preserving nutritional quality better than those methods.
Although I prefer roasting, which has the added flavor benefit of browning the asparagus, I see nothing wrong at all with using a microwave. It is a quicker, healthier alternative to steaming or boiling.

3 years

Made this once when my wife was ill, now one of our favs.. cut bacon into small pieces, fry up and separate cooked bacon from pan, add fresh asparagus pieces, cook just until crisp..take greens out of pan then comes the fun.. add feta cheese and some pinions.. pour over top of the asparagus and enjoy.. very fatty. not for the faint of heart.. but wow what a treat!!

Personally, I am horrified you would microwave asparagus....I feel slightly faint.....kinda like the time my best friend told me she mico'd artichokes.

3 years

The best way to cook asparagus is to use one of those indoor electric grills with the serations. Use a spray olive oil and spray the grill and the asparagus. Cook until you get the grill lines, dump a little water around the asparagus and cover with a cookind lid for about a minute and serve. Oh, salt while on teh grill. Good eating.

3 years

Ever since I moved to asparagus-growing country, I've cooked it in butter with a touch of garlic--a treat!

3 years

I love asparagus cooked almost any way as long as it doesn't go past 'crisp-tender'. It is wonderful grilled or sauteed, but I also like blanching it for a very few minutes, then shocking it in ice water to go in salads. I also never go for the 'pencil thin' stalks as I think thicker stalks have a lot more flavour, and I don't mind peeling them. (I always use the parings as part of my veggie stocks.) The only thing I do with the thin stalks is make them into soup. (I like to remove the tips and saute them in butter for a garnish for the soup.) Oh, another thing to do with the blanched stalks is to reheat them in butter and top with a poached egg. That's a perfect breakfast during asparagus season. I could eat asparagus 3 times a day.

This is the only way I will make asparagus. Some olive oil and kosher salt - broiled in the oven or tossed on the grill until charred. They're like green french fries and are by far my favorite spring food.